“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength . . . Love your neighbor as yourself.” Mark 12:30-31

In his book, “Just Like Jesus,” the author, Max Lucado posses the question, “What if, for one day, Jesus were to become you?”

What if Jesus woke up in your bed, walked in your shoes, lived in your house, and assumed your schedule? What if, for one day and one night, Jesus lives your life with His heart?

Would people notice a difference? Would priorities change? Would behavior be altered? Would the expressions of your heart be altered?

When I think of these things, my immediate reaction is “Oh my”  but should it be? In the gospels, through a variety of circumstances, Jesus reveals His heart to us. He reveals His priorities, His behavior, and His love for others. It was His intention to reveal to us the very heart of our God so that we might pattern our lives after Him  so that we might do what Jesus would do.

I believe that people around us are hungering for community, authenticity, and sincere faith, and Jesus encourages us to engage our world. As I continue to reflect on what this means for followers of Jesus in this 21st century, I have concluded that being “Great Commandment” disciples will help us to accomplish this.

Jesus encourages us to live with our focus on loving God and others with our heart, soul, mind and strength. He calls on us to have the passion for God and others He would have.

He counsels us to use the breath of God to express our love for Him and our neighbors. He encourages us to know our God more and more so that we can express God’s heart in worship and service.

He invites us to use our talents and abilities to engage our world and bring glory to our Father in heaven.

So, what if, for one day, we lived like Jesus? What if, for one day, we had His passion, breathed His breath, thoughts His thoughts, served like He served?

What if we did not do it for only one day, but chose to do what Jesus would do with our entire life?

Let me say again that people in our world are hungering for community, authenticity, and sincerity of faith and love. If we are fully devoted followers of Christ, they will find an answer in the family of God.